Memories
by Ani Pendragon
Summary: A look into the childhood of Shun Kazami and Dan Kuso, and of their friendship, which has lasted even the toughest of obstacles.
1. First Day Jitters

First Day Jitters

"But Mom, I don't want to start school, I want to stay home with you." Shiori Kazami smiled softly at her 6 year old son.

"Shunsuke, please, I've kept you from school long enough. You're already starting a year behind the other children your age." Shunsuke sighed softly, looking up at his mother with hopeful eyes.

"But Mom…"

"But nothing." Shiori's voice was soft but firm, "You have to go to school to learn new things that will help you when you are older. I promise that you'll have fun. You'll learn new things, you'll make new friends, friends that are your own age, and you'll get to play with all kinds of toys that we don't have at home."

"You could teach me everything I need to know!" he protested. Shiori smiled,

"No I couldn't, I don't know half of the things your teacher knows. Now go on, it's time for school." She gestured towards the gate that led into the school yard. Shunsuke stared at the kid-filled yard with fearful eyes,

"But there's so many of them." he whispered. Shiori crouched down so she could look her son in the eye and gently placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You're going to be fine. You'll make a new friend or two, you'll do lots of exciting things in class and I'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day so you can tell me all about it." Shunsuke bit his lip,

"Promise?" he asked. She smiled,

"Promise." Shunsuke hugged her,

"Ok." Shiori hugged him back and kissed his forehead.

"Love you."

"Love you too." Shunsuke stepped back from his mother and headed towards the schoolyard gate. He paused as he reached it, turning his head to look at his mom and she smiled reassuringly at him. Taking a deep breath, Shunsuke pushed open the gate and walked through the gate.

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Author's Note: Okay, so I suppose I owe an explanation for this. So a few things: this is a fic with multiple one-shots about Dan and Shun's past, a look into their childhood. So this is Shun's first day of kindergarten and he is older than everyone else. His mother kept him out of school for multiple reasons, which will probably be explained later. I have taken a few creative liberties here as you can see. For starters, I've made Shun's full name Shunsuke. Look up the definition of Shunsuke and you'll understand why. That means that Shun goes by a nickname which many characters, including Dan, do. I also have decided that while Shun is the strong and silent type now, he was shy as a kid and just turned that way when he was older. Make sense? Great! Please Review and tell me what you think.


	2. Birth of a Nickname

Birth of a Nickname

The schoolyard was far louder than anything Shunsuke had ever experienced, hundreds upon hundreds of sounds, both small and large, swirled together in the wind, creating a cacophony of sheer volume that pressed inwards on Shunsuke's eardrums. He winced softly, and glanced around, looking for a place to sit until school started. He spied an oak tree off to one side of the yard and sat under it, leaning against the cool bark.

"Heads up!" Shunsuke's head snapped up at the words, hands flying upwards to catch a white ball mere inches from his face. He blinked, staring in wonder at the smooth ball and it's oddly shaped stitching.

"Hey, you okay?" called a voice. Shunsuke looked up from the ball, standing slowly as a brunet boy ran over to him. The boy grinned, only slightly taller than the raven haired boy.

"That was some catch!" Shunsuke blinked,

"Uh…" The other boy grinned at him,

"You're new right? I'm Dan." Shunsuke smiled uncertainly at the boy's friendly tone,

"Shunsuke." he replied softly. Dan tipped his head to one side,

"Shunsuke…" he echoed, "No, that won't do." he said, shaking his head. Shunsuke blinked, taken aback by Dan's words.

"Won't do?" he questioned. Dan grinned,

"Yeah, it's too long for me to say all the time. What you need is a nickname, like me." he proclaimed. Shunsuke blinked,

"Why would I need a nickname?" he asked.

"Well if we're gonna be friends then you're gonna need a shorter name for me to say. Shunsuke's too long."

"Friends…" echoed Shunsuke softly, completely caught off guard by the boy's forwardness.

"Yeah, friends! Bestest friends! Don't tell me you've never had a friend before?"

"Uh…" Shunsuke struggled for words, head spinning. Dan tapped his chin thoughtfully,

"Now what am I going to call you? …I know!" he grinned, pointing at the smaller boy, "I'm gonna call you Shun! Now come on let's go play!" with that, Dan grabbed the newly dubbed Shun by the hand and pulled him off towards the playground. Shun, who had just caught up with everything, noticed the monkey bars and smiled, maybe school wouldn't be all that bad.

* * *

Author's Note: Well there you have it, Shun finally gets his name. I always pictured something like this happening between the two of them, Dan meeting Shun on the first day of school and promptly declaring him his new best friend. They're a good match, Dan's hyperactivity as a kid would have balanced out well with Shun's quietness. Now, when does Shun turn into the ninja we all know and love? Well, that's for later. And yes, Shun was a tiny kid, I picture him getting a growth spurt around the time the Bakugan showed up and never letting dan hear the end of it. And yes, these are short, but they get longer!


	3. Somersaults and Baseball

Baseball and Somersaults

Lunch recess, the time of fun, the time of games, and the time where you could play with all of your friends without having to ask your parents. The favourite time of day for school children everywhere.

"Let's play baseball!" called Dan as he and his classmates streaked across the yard. Cheers rose up around him, everyone already splitting off into two teams. Dan grinned at Shun, who was easily keeping pace beside him,

"You ever play?" asked Dan. Shun shook his head sheepishly.

"You've never played baseball? Weird." Dan came to halt on the field, "You can be on my team. Just go stand behind the bases and catch the ball when it comes to you okay?" Shun nodded, wondering if the ball he'd seen earlier was this 'baseball', before heading past the bases.

The game soon got underway and balls rarely made it past the bases, meaning that Shun had almost nothing to do. He didn't mind, he enjoyed watching everyone else play, it was interesting. A bigger kid walked up to the field then, grabbing the bat and readying himself for the pitch. Dan grinned from where he stood on the pitcher's mound and threw the ball as hard as he could. The kid easily hit the ball and it went flying through the air, right in Shun's direction.

"Home run!" called a boy. Shun's eyes narrowed and he took off after the ball, running as fast as little legs could carry him. He sprung off of a rock he'd run onto and soared through the air. Somersaulting, he caught the ball and easily dropped to the ground in a crouch, holding the ball above him. Smiling, he stood and turned back towards the other kids, his smile falling when he saw the looks of shock they were giving him.

"Um…did I do it right?" he asked. Dan nodded slowly, before breaking out into a large grin,

"That was awesome! You're like Spiderman! Or Superman! Where'd you learn how to do that?" he asked. Shun smiled as he walked over and handed the ball to Dan,

"My grandfather." he replied. Dan nodded, turning towards the others,

"Hey Tyler. That means you're out!" Dan turned back to Shun, "Can you do anything else?" Shun nodded,

"Lots of stuff." the other students were close by now, some smiling, some still looking shocked. Dan's grin widened,

"Great! You have got to show me later!" With that, the game continued, and as long as Shun was in the field, no one managed to get a home run.

* * *

Author's Note: Number Three is up! Any thoughts? I think the ending is cheesy, but it made sense to cut it off there. Anyway, I always thought Shun would have been trained by his grandpa from when he was really little, so he had some ninja skills even back then. And no, he isn't jumping 20 feet in the air, more like 10, he's tiny! As for he not knowing what baseball is, I always pictured him having a really sheltered life until he started school. Staying home and hanging with his mom, he was really close to her, making dinner with her, and practicing with his grandfather. I think I've thought out every little detail of his life actually...


	4. Monkey Bars Aren't For Monkeys

Monkey Bars Aren't For Monkeys

Monkey bars, the ultimate playground test of strength, coordination and durability. Shun eyed the tall blue bars curiously, studying them.

"So…" said Dan. Shun nodded and walked away from the bars, Dan frowned, looking confused. Then Shun turned and ran towards the bars, jumping he caught the closest bar and swung himself up and over another bar. He pulled himself up and sat on top of the bars for a moment, before shifting his feet underneath him and slowly standing, balanced on two bars.

Dan stared, eyes wide as his friend let go of the bars and balance with only his feet, other students were watching too. Shun took a deep breath and bent his knees, before springing into the air and flipping over, landing on his hands. He twisted easily, walking across the bars with his hands, before letting his legs fall backwards over his head until he was in a bridge. He stood up again and grinned, he loved the monkey bars. Shun slid his feet onto the side bar and let himself fall backwards off of the monkey bars, swinging underneath the bars and grabbing onto them just before he hit the ground. Dropping to the ground, he turned and smiled at Dan.

"That was-"

"Shun!" Heads turned as the teacher headed towards them. "What on Earth do you think you're doing?"

"Playing." replied Shun. The teacher frowned,

"That's not playing Shun. That's too dangerous for you to be doing, at school or anywhere else." Shun cocked his head to one side,

"Aren't the monkey bars for monkeys? They do lots of stuff like that." he pointed out.

"They are not for monkey children! You could fall and get hurt and then you'd have to go to the hospital. You'll break your neck, you'll crack your head open! Now come on, I'm going to keep you inside for the rest of the day for your own safety. Then we're going to have a talk with your mom when she comes to pick you up later." said the teacher, ushering Shun inside as she finished. Shun sighed,

"Then why are they called _monkey_ bars?" he muttered.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh Shun, you poor, poor soul. Got the idea for this one from when I was little, we had this girl who used to do really crazy stuff on the bars, got all of us kicked off of them for YEARS. On another note, I already have ideas for more drabbles, most of which are really silly and humorous. I'd love to here from everyone on what they think! Assuming anybody reads this...


	5. Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea

Miyoko Kuso and Shiori Kazami sat at a small, round table on Miyoko's back porch. The two women sat sipping tea idly as the sun set, waiting for their sons to return from the beach with their friends. Miyoko sighed and looked over to Shiori,

"Are you going to tell him?" she asked. Shiori smiled softly and set down her tea,

"No, I don't think I am. I wouldn't him to worry Miyoko, he's just a kid, he deserves to be free from sadness and sickness." Miyoko closed her eyes momentarily,

"But… You're dying Shio, and the doctors, they don't know what's wrong with you!"

"No, they don't." she agreed, "But they have given me something to slow down whatever it is I have, and it's working-" she broke off in a small coughing fit. Miyoko leaned over and patted her on the back,

"Obviously it's not working well enough." she pointed out, but her voice was soft, more concerned for her friend than anything else.

"I want to be here for Shun for as long as I can. I want to play with him, to go to the beach with him, to pick him up from school on a rainy day and take him out for ice cream. And I want to be able to do that without him worrying constantly about my health." she sighed, wiping a tear from her eye, "I know I'm not going to be there to watch him grow up and become the amazing young man I know he will be. But, as long as I'm here, I want to make my time count, and that means him thinking everything is okay."

"But he doesn't. Shun knows you're sick."

"Yes, but he doesn't know _how_ sick, and that makes all the difference." Miyoko bit her lip and, blinking back tears of her own, reached across the table and laid one of her hands atop Shiori's.

"I'll look after him, once you're gone. I'll make sure he grows up to be a good person. I promise." she said, looking into Shiori's sparkling eyes. Smiling sadly, Shiori nodded, tears gathered on her eyelashes,

"Thank you, Miyoko, you truly are the greatest friend I could of ever asked for." The sun finished it's setting behind the house.

* * *

Author's Note: So here it is. My interpretation of Shiori's, Shun's mom, and Miyoko's, Dan's mom, friendship. As you can see, this is where I follow the Japanese and not the English, as she is in fact, dying. This chapter isn't directly about Shun and Dan, but it does relate to them and I felt it was an important part of their lives. Whether they ever find out about this conversation, is another story. And yes, Miyoko's calling Shiori 'Shio' was on purpose, it's her nickname. Sniff, now I'm all sad thinking about death... anyway review! It'll cheer me up!


	6. Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Mrs. Kuso breathed in deeply as she pulled the second sheet of sugar cookies from the oven. She had decided to bake today while the boys were off playing their games. Of course, it was only when Dan wasn't in the house that she could bake, the boy had a habit of eating everything in sight. Setting the third batch in oven, she pondered that, did Daniel really eat everything? She shook her head as she realized, yes, he did.

The front door swung open, revealing Dan and Shun, home from their Little League practice.

"Mom! We're home!" called Dan. Miyoko sighed, wondering how long the cookies would last with Dan home. She smiled as the two boys came into the kitchen,

"How was practice?" she asked. Dan grinned,

"Awesome! I finally figured out how to throw a curve ball and Shun caught everything! Everything!" Dan's eyed widened, "Are those sugar cookies?" he asked hopefully. Miyoko smiled,

"Yes, they are. Would you boys like one?" she asked. Dan grinned and helped himself to a cookie, Shun merely looked at them.

"Shun, would you like a sugar cookie?" she asked. Shun blinked,

"Sugar cookie? Like, they're made of sugar?" he asked looking confused. Miyoko blinked in surprise, then realized that Shiori had probably never baked sugar cookies for Shun.

"Sort of." she replied picking up a cookie. "Try it." she handed it to the small boy. Shun took a small bite out of the cookie, moments later his eyes widened and he stared at the cookie in awe.

"This is the most amazing cookie in the world!" he proclaimed. Dan grinned, stealing another cookie,

"See mom? You're the best cook in the whole city! Maybe even the whole country!" he said. Miyoko turned towards her son,

"Thank you Dan. Now stop taking cookies, you're going to ruin your dinner." she scolded.

"Sorry." said Dan around a mouthful of cookie. Miyoko turned back towards the counters to begin cleaning, missing the mischievous look Dan and Shun exchanged. She turned to look at the cookie tray, which she had been standing next to, and was taken aback when she saw it was empty.

"Now how on Earth did they manage that?" she asked. Then, she looked up, there were footprints on her ceiling, and she could hear giggling coming from upstairs. She sighed,

"Shun really is quite talented, now if only he'd put those talents to good use."

* * *

Author's Note: So after a bit of a break, I'm back with more! This time Dan and Shun are raiding the kitchen! I always thought that Shun would be the one to appreciate Mrs. Kuso's cooking, as Dan eats too fast to taste anything, and thought this would be a good start. It also provides a clue to a future chapter. See if you can guess what it is.


	7. Super Shun and Danger Dan

Super Shun and Danger Dan

The Kuso house was quiet, too quiet, _especially_ too quiet for Dan and Shun. Miyoko looked up to the stairs, straining to hear any sounds the boys could be making. She sighed, Shiori has asked her to look after Shun while she went to the doctors' office, leaving two unsupervised boys while she baked cookies. After the last cookie fiasco, Miyoko had decided that she was not going to leave any cookies unwatched, and had decided to hide them on top of the ceiling fan.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off. Miyoko paused in her actions, then walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She smiled when she saw Shiori at the front door. The two women eyed each other warily and started towards the stairs, only to jump back when they heard a bang.

It was then that Shun appeared, wearing a black cape and a dark bandanna, which covered his face from the nose down.

"I," he declared, standing on the banister, "am Super Shun! With my awesome ninja fighting skills!" he then struck a ninja-like pose. Dan appeared beside him, standing on the stairs instead of the banister. He was wearing a red cape and a red mask over his eyes, which tied around the back of his head.

"And I am his partner in hero-ing Danger Dan! I explode!" he proclaimed, grinning widely.

"Together we fight to save the world from cooties and cookie stealers alike!" they finished together. Miyoko and Shiori both smiled at that, it was nice to see the boys acting silly.

"Super Shun we must save the cookies from the evil Count Moms!" said Dan. Shun nodded,

"You take care of the Counts-"

"And you go save the cookies."

"For freedom!" they cheered, and then launched themselves off the stairs. Shiori and Miyoko struck a fighting pose, this, was going to be fun.

* * *

Author's Note: Every little kid plays pretend, Shun and Dan were no exception to this rule. Of course, if they end up getting cookies out of it, who's to say their intentions weren't pure? A second drabble for today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please Review.


	8. My Hero

My Hero

"Alright class, today we are going to write a paragraph on who our hero is and why they are our hero." said the teacher from the front of the room. "Please take out a piece of paper and begin, if you need any help, just ask." The class groaned and set to work, the sounds of pencils scratching against paper filling the air. Dan turned to look at Shun,

"So who are you going to write about? I'm gonna write about my dad! He's awesome." whispered Dan, grinning at the smaller boy. Shun smiled,

"It's a surprise." he replied. Dan frowned,

"Ah come on, tell me!" Shun shook his head,

"Nope. It's a secret." he replied.

"I'll be your best friend!" Shun gave him a disbelieving look that faintly reminded Dan of his mother.

"You're already my best friend." The teacher looked up,

"Shun, Dan? Do I need to separate you two?" she asked. The boys shook their heads,

"No Ms. Morgan." they replied. Class continued as usual, with Dan trying to sneak looks at Shun's paper and Shun easily spotting and stopping his attempts. At the end of class the children handed in their papers on their way out to recess. The teacher paused in her cleaning to glance at them, and smiled at one paper in particular.

_My Hero_

_By: Shun_

_My hero is my best friend Dan Kuso. He's my hero because he is a nice person that makes friends easily, can always make someone feel better when they are down, and because he's always there for his friends. But most importantly, Dan's my hero because he never gives up no matter what. Even when the odds are against and everything says he can't do it, he keeps trying. Even if it's dangerous, or everyones laughing at him, he keeps going until he does it. One day, I hope I can be as determined and as caring as him, and that I can do just as much for him as he's done for me. He's an amazing person, and even though he has his bad sides, he more than makes up for it. He's Dan Kuso, and one day, I think he's gonna save the world._

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Author's Note: So this isn't my favourite drablle thing. But it is true, I can see Shun admiring Dan and never telling him, mostly because then Dan's head would explode from his ego. There are two people in Shun's life that he truly cares about: his mom and Dan. And that's why Shun always swoops in to save the day when Dan gets himself into trouble. Because he cares. Anyway, please review. Also, Shun thinks Dan can save the world, I find this adorable.


	9. To Be A Hero

To Be a Hero

With the world saved and the Bakugan gone, the brawlers had decided to take a walk through the city and see if they could find anything interesting.

"So then I was like, 'no way', and she was like 'yes way' and so I got a bunch of shirts of for like, 10 bucks! Don't you just love sales!" said Julie, chattering away to Runo and Alice. As Alice opened her mouth to reply, a fire truck screamed past, which was followed quickly by another one, and then an ambulance.

"I wonder what's going on." said Marucho. Shun's eyes narrowed, and he ran after the fire trucks, wondering what could cause such a commotion. The brawlers quickly followed him, seeing the black smoke that was rising into the sky.

The fire was not too far from where they were, and when they got there, they saw three fire trucks trying to put out a monstrous fire erupting from a large two story building. The medics were already loading people into the numerous ambulances scattered across the surrounding area. The brawlers caught up to Shun, who was standing back from the scene, taking everything in. Dan blinked,

"What's going-"

"My baby! Let me go! My baby's inside! Please, you've got to let me in! Please!" shouted a woman, struggling against the two men that were holding her back from the building. Two fire-fighters started towards the front door, presumably to find said baby, only to jump back as the front porch caved in.

"Get back! This whole place is gonna come down any minute!" called the fire chief.

"No!" screamed the woman, tears streaming down her face, "My baby!" she was hysterical. Shun's eyes narrowed, scanning the building quickly. Then he took off across the lot towards the building, heedless of the fire-fighters shouting at him to stop, and dove into the burning building through a broken window.

The whole world seemed to slow down as Shun dove into the house, people stopped what they were doing and just stared at the window Shun had gone through. Fire-fighters shouted to one another, the building was going to come down, they couldn't go in after him. Dan's whole world seemed to stop, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open, unable to understand why Shun had done it.

Then, the world sped up again, and the fire-fighters jumped back from the building, fire exploded from every window, the house engulfed in flames.

"No!" shouted Dan, dropping to his knees. Shun, was gone.

Only seconds passed until something else seemed to be tossed out of a window, impossible to clearly see through the smoke. Heads came up, people stopped what they were doing, as Shun Kazami stumbled out of the smoke. His arms were bare and covered in soot, ash, and several burns, bits of glass clung to his body, the ends of his hair were burnt clean off, his face and clothes were streaked with ash and blood and his whole body was grey from smoke. He was hunched over and appeared to be clutching his jacket to his chest protectively.

He straightened up a bit as he stumbled across the lot, gently pulling his jacket from it's protective place, suddenly a soft cry broke through the apparent silence, Shun had the baby, and it was alive.

Medics rushed forwards, taking the baby from Shun and helping him to an ambulance, even the fire-fighters seemed to stare as they manoeuvred their hoses. The brawlers ran over to the ambulance Shun had been taken to. He was wearing an oxygen mask and a paramedic was working on getting the glass out of his body and cleaning his wounds. Behind them, the fire was beginning to burn itself out.

"Why did you do something so stupid?" asked Runo, sounding mildly angry. Shun cracked a half-smile behind the mask,

"Because there was a life in danger, and I could save it." he replied, voice hoarse. Dan shook his head, and the lady from before ran over, eyes brimming with tears.

"Is she ok?" asked Shun softly. The woman nodded,

"Thank you so much. Thank you…" she said. Shun nodded, and the woman went back to check on her baby. Everyone shook their heads at him,

"You're insane." muttered the paramedic. Dan shook his head, smiling at Shun,

"No, not insane, but close. He's a hero, a true hero."

* * *

Author's Note: Alright before I say anything else, yes, Shun and the baby are both fine. The baby was protected from the smoke and ash in Shun's jacket and Shun made a full recovery within a few days. Now that that's through, what did you think? Good, bad? Personally, I thought it was a good follow up to the My Hero Chapter. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, I always thought that if Shun saw a burning building, and knew someone was inside, that he'd go after them, no matter what the odds were, because he really does care more about everyone else's lives than his own. In his words, which I guess are technically mine, "I'm not a hero, I just do these things because no one else can. If I can save a life, shouldn't I?" Anyway, please review.


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